Located in Danbury, Connecticut Tarrywile Park is one of Fairfield County’s hidden gems consisting of 722 acres of pristine open space as well as a classic Victorian mansion available to host public and private events ranging from business meetings to weddings. The park is also home to environmental research and educational programs in addition to serving as the prime location in the region for outdoor recreational activities such as hiking, mountain biking, fishing, horseback riding, picnicking and other activities.
Once the site of a successful dairy farm, today the park contains a dazzling array of natural terrain, landscaping features and vistas. The manicured lawns and formal gardens that surround the mansion give way to meadows in the old farm area and rugged forested areas through which the park’s twenty-miles of hiking trails wind their way. The park contains two ponds and borders on Tarrywile Lake. The old farm orchards now provide a perfect setting for one of Tarrywile’s picnic areas. The estate’s Victorian Japanese Garden has been brought back to life as a Children’s Garden providing an opportunity for kids to learn about nature in a fun, inter-active manner. Many of the more than twenty outbuildings on the site have been restored, some as rental properties to bring income to the support the operation of the park.
The old hay barn in the Dairy Farm area has been renovated into the Red Barn Environmental Center which serves as the site of educational programs and seminars. One of the farm’s silos has also been restored with the intention of utilizing it as a gallery. While some of the dairy’s outbuildings were too far deteriorated to save, the milking shed, watering trough and several storage sheds remain to preserve a glimpse of the dairy’s past.
The Tarrywile Park Master Plan lays out a roadmap for future enhancements and renovations that would allow the Park to fulfill its full potential as a passive recreation and environmental center. The plan calls for a series of projects to restore and enhance the park’s buildings and grounds, including revitalization of the Hearthstone Castle area [link to Hearthstone Castle]. The Friends of Tarrywile Park works with the Tarrywile Park Authority to create awareness of the park and to raise funds in support of enhancements to Tarrywile’s grounds and facilities.
For more information about the many activities that you can enjoy at Tarrywile please click on the appropriate tabs on our home page. Please also check out our gallery of park views. To learn more about the Friends of Tarrywile Park and the benefits of membership please call Mark Nolan at 203-797-8255.
To learn more about Tarrywile Park and the Master Plan call the Tarrywile Park Authority at 203-744-3130.